Friday, September 22, 2006

Japan offers lesson on pollution, bubble economy

(China Daily) Updated: 2006-09-21 11:20 China can learn from Japan on
how to deal with pollution and avoid dangers of a "bubble economy," a Japanese
former senior official said yesterday.

"Japan witnessed severe environmental problems in the 1960s, when numerous
factories were set up under the impetus of industrialization," said Masayoshi
Takemura, former chief cabinet secretary, at the Second Sino-Japanese Industrial
Economy Forum in Beijing.

Japan then established an environmental administration system to handle
pollution problems, he said.

In the '90s, the economic bubble began to burst after prices of Japanese land
and stocks plummeted, causing tremendous bad debts, he added.

"Even if Japan stopped offering overseas direct aid to China, the two
neighbours could collaborate with each other in areas ranging from personnel and
assets to environment and energy conservation technologies," Takemura suggested.

China and Japan can play important roles in pushing forward the economic
integration process in East Asia, said Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the
Boao Forum for Asia.

"East Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world," said Long, adding
that "integrated industrial chains have taken shape in many sectors in the
region, such as auto and electronic industries."

Japan will play a leading role in the chain with its advantages in investment
and technology, Long said. And China is famous for its abundance of high-quality
and low-cost labour forces.

Furthermore, the economies of the two nations are highly complementary in
many respects, he noted.

For example, about 100,000 Japanese are working in China with several million
Chinese employees, Long noted.

Long also urged the two governments to provide the foundation that will
ensure the progress of a more stable and transparent economic integration in the
region.

Co-sponsored by CEC and Japan's Hitotsubashi University, the forum, first
held in 2004, aims to exchange ideas on enterprises' development.